The Calling: Chapter One
by Iminbigtrouble
Summary: Skipper is a rouge with a sickly sister. When he's taken by a creature against his will to Leafclan, is it by fate? Who is his mother, really, and what will happen to his best friends? Please review! This is not my first fanfic, but I still accept criticism!
1. Chapter 1- Petal and the Cough

Skipper cuffed his little sister over the ear.  
"Hurry up, Petal! Mother has a squirrel for us!" He chirped as his smaller sister sat up.  
There was shifting on the other side  
of the nest.  
"Squirrel?" Skipper's bigger brother replied with a yawn, sitting up as well.  
Skipper scowled. "Aw, shut it, Fresno. You practically eat all the food and never let us have a single bite!"  
All three kits scrambled to one side of the nest, pressed together as their mother came into the den, a plump squirrel dangling from her jaws by its tail. Their mother dropped the squirrel. There was a moment of squealing of delight, before two of the kits tore into the juicy prey.  
"Mmmmm!" Skipper swallowed a mouthful of squirrel. "This is fantastic! Mama, will you teach us how to hunt,_pleeeeease_?" Skipper begged.  
Skipper had asked their mother  
to show them how to hunt every day for moons, but her answer was always the same.  
"You're too young."  
As Skipper swallowed disappointment, Fresno ripped a chunk out of the squirrel half the size of Petal.  
"_Skipper_ is too young." He corrected. "But I learned how to hunt _ages_ ago!" He boasted, before gulping down the prey.  
"You learned to hunt one quarter moon ago!" Skipper hissed in annoyance.  
Skipper would have torn a whisker off of his arrogant brother, had there not been something else catching his attention. Skipper turned to his smaller sister, who was just staring at her piece of prey like it was an adder. He pushed his share over with a paw.  
"You eat it." He offered.  
When Petal shook her head, Skipper was shoved aside by their mother.  
"Oh, Petal, dear, you _must_ eat!" She fretted over her sickly kit.  
Petal just shook her head again, breaking off with a coughing fit. Her whole body trembled. From her ears, to the tip if her tail, Petal shook and coughed.  
"Rowanpaw, what's wrong with Petal?" Skipper tipped his head.  
Their mother whipped her head around.  
"I told you never to call me that. My name is no longer Rowanpaw... It's Maggie!" She snapped. Maggie turned back to Petal, who had finished coughing but still would not eat.  
He watched as Maggie gently set Petal into the nest, and slowly groomed her.  
Is Petal going to die? Skipper asked silently. O_h, please don't let her die!_


	2. Chapter 2- The creature and Leafclan

Chapter two: The calling

Skipper thrashed in the jaws of the giant beast, screeching and flailing with all his strength.

"MAGGIE! MAMA! HELP ME!" He cried desperately, dangling in the mouth of the badger that had taken him.

However much he looked and cried out, they weren't anywhere to be seen.

Maggie, Fresno, and Petal...

_Oh, Petal_! Skipper sobbed silently. _I think I may be coming to join you now..._

Petal had died of illness the night before, and now, Skipper was at the mercy of a merciless monster.

Finally, Skipper stopped struggling and waited, hopeless, as the badger carried him through the forest. It seemed like moons and moons, but the badger finally halted. It was strange, actually, for the halt was so sudden, as if the badger was startled.

Skipper closed his eyes tightly, fearing this was his final moment.

However, the pain of death never came. Instead, there was a screech of fury, and the sound of paws smaller than a badger coming close.

"Mangy evil swine!" Skipper heard a voice snarl, before he was abruptly flung aside by the badger.

Numb with shock, the last thing Skipper heard before he blacked out, was screeching, crashing, and the painful groan of the badger...

Skipper heard them before he saw them. A group of cats were huddled around him, poking at him with noses and talking in urgent, hushed voices.

"I saw his ears twitch. He's coming into consciousness!" A young tom voice said.

"Coalstorm, tell your apprentice to back off. This kit needs space." A mature tom hissed.

"Redpaw, you heard Pinestorm." A deep, rough sounding voice grunted.

Skipper decided to open his eyes.

As they opened, he saw five cats surrounding him, staring curiously.

"Poor mite." A cream and white furred tom murmured.

"Honestly, Eggfoot, you'd feel sorry over a dead vole!" The voice he'd heard named as Coalstorm growled.

Eggfoot just blinked anxiously down at Skipper.

" Eggfoot, tell your apprentice to go fetch Dexfeather." The voice belonged to the cat called Pinestorm.

"Quietpaw..." Eggfoot glanced at a small, gray she-cat, who was shyly staring at Skipper.

Quietpaw sniffed, and darted off into the trees.

"Do you really think Weatherstar will allow this... Nuisance into his camp?" Coalstorm grumbled.

Redpaw nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, he's been really edgy lately."

Pinestorm ignored the remarks, bending down to sniff at Skipper. "Hello there, kit. Do you have a name?"

Skipper struggled to sit up, for wounds on his back stung from where the sharp badger teeth had been.

"I'm S-Skipper. Thank you for rescuing me." He stammered.

Coalstorm rolled his eyes.

"Skipper! A Kittypet name. It's nothing but a useless Kittypet."

Skipper shot an indignant look at Coalstorm.

"I am not a Kittypet. My mother R-r-rrrrr-Maggie... Erm... Used to be a Kittypet, but she moved away from her twolegs when she found a mate."

Coalstorm huffed.

"Stuttering moron. What kind of name is R-rrrrMaggie?"

Skipper opened his mouth, ready to explain that she used to be called 'Rowanpaw' when he realized that she hated being called that. Plus, some

Of these cats had odd names like Quiet'paw' too. Maybe these cats had something to do with why she hated her name! Skipper closed his mouth.

'Should I hate them, too?'He wondered. 'They did save me...'

Skipper twitched his ears and gave nothing away. He needed to be thankful for being rescued.

Some leaves rustled behind Skipper, and all of the cats turned to see Quietpaw returning with a rather over groomed, skinny, gray cat, with shockingly clear, blue eyes.

'This must be Dexwhatsit...feather.' Skipper thought.

Dexfeather bent his head and nudged at Skipper, licking his back sound a couple times, which made Skipper wince in pain.

"She'll be fine." The cat sounded nasally, as if he had the sniffles.

Skipper snorted.

"She? Who's 'She?'"

Dexfeather tilted his head for a moment, looking rather

Confused.

Then, he straightened as his eyes widened.

"So it's a tom. Weatherstar will want to see this."

Without waiting for a reply from his companions, Dexfeather picked up Skipper by his scruff and carried him off.

"Hey!" Skipper squeaked. He didn't like the idea of being carried off by strangers.

Eggfoot, Coalstorm, Redpaw, Quietpaw, and Pinestorm followed.

They eventually reached a place that was cut off by a barrier of thorns and branches. Skipper was gently set down, and nudged under a small, prickly entrance.

"Go on. We won't hurt you." Dexfeather urged.

Skipper sighed and slipped through the entrance, careful not to get pricked by a thorn.

'These forest cats must have really thick fur!' Skipper commented to himself, noticing how the thorns didn't seem to bother the others.

He emerged into a clearing, trees and thorn barriers surrounding every corner. Nicely built dens were at the edges of the place, and there was a tree stump sitting in the very center

If the clearing, prey overflowing from inside of it. The wing of a bird and the tail of a squirrel hung outside of the top of the stump, reminding Skipper Of his hunger.

Eggfoot must have heard Skipper's belly growl, because he quickly and shyly darted towards the trunk, nipped the tail of the squirrel with his teeth, and dragged the fresh-kill over to him.

"Here. Eat this. Maybe I can get one of the elders to tell you a story while Dexfeather gets Weatherstar." The cream tom offered, darting off again.

Coalstorm walked right past Skipper, showing no interest, Redpaw following, nose up.

Even Pinestorm had left , following Dexfeather. Only Quietpaw remained, staring gently at Skipper.

"Hi." She mumbled, hardly more than a whisper.

"Hi. I guess I know why you're called Quietpaw." Skipper joked.

Quietpaw grinned a bit, and let out a giggle that made Skipper smile. Skipper liked Quietpaw already.

"Are you a-" Quietpaw's question was cut off by a grunt from behind them.

Skipper turned to see a large, white tom staring at him. The cat had one white eye on the right side of his face, with fur torn away near his eye to reveal pink flesh, which was pink and hairless all the way to the tip of his right ear, which had several cuts in it. Skipper was also alarmed to notice that the tom had only one whisker on the scarred side of his face, which twitched almost constantly, like the wings of a hummingbird.

"Hello, little one." The tom rumbled. "I am Weatherstar. Do not be afraid; We welcome you."


End file.
